U.S. President Donald Trump is set Wednesday to order construction of a wall along the country’s southern border with Mexico to thwart illegal migration, limit the admission of refugees into the U.S. and confront American cities that are protecting undocumented migrants.
The new president plans to sign the immigration executive orders as he visits the Department of Homeland Security, the federal agency charged with protecting the U.S. border, and take additional actions in the coming days.
The orders would serve as an exclamation point to one of the major forces behind Trump’s lengthy run to a four-year term in the White House, his contention that illegal migrants in the U.S. threaten its security and cost American workers their jobs. At rally after rally during his campaign, his most fervent cheering supporters shouted, “Build that wall!”
Details of his Wednesday orders are not yet clear, but Trump is considering a four-month freeze on all refugee admissions, as well as banning for at least 30 days entry to the U.S. by anyone from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen — all Muslim majority countries. The ban was believed to also include an exception for people who are religious minorities in their country and facing persecution.
FILE – Illegal immigrant Layios Roberto waits outside the offices of Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights in Los Angeles, Aug. 15, 2012.
National security
Trump often used his campaign rallies to criticize U.S. admissions of refugees, employing the phrase, “We have no idea who these people are.” He also initially proposed a ban on admitting people from Muslim countries, drawing sharp criticism. He later amended his stance to include countries with links to terrorism.
Trump, on his Twitter account Tuesday night, wrote, “Big day planned on NATIONAL SECURITY tomorrow. Among many other things, we will build the wall!”
The new president wants a wall along the entire 3,200-kilometer length of the U.S.-Mexico border. Currently there is a barrier only along some of the border, although U.S. agents patrol it in vehicles, and monitor it with unmanned drones, infrared video and other means.
Trump frequently has vowed that Mexico would pay for the wall, including saying Congress would initially authorize the U.S. government to pick up the cost — possibly $10 billion or more — and be reimbursed later by the Mexican government.
Mexico has repeatedly stated it will not pay for the wall. Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto is due visit the White House next week to discuss border security issues and extensive trade between the two neighbors.
Trump has said building the wall would be easy, though others are no so confident of that, noting the rough terrain along the border, with regular peaks and valleys. Some of the property along the border is owned privately and the owners say they oppose construction of a wall.
FILE – U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent passes along a section of border wall in Hidalgo, Texas.
Sanctuary cities
In addition, Trump plans to target the several hundred U.S. cities that by law or their political decisions have declared themselves “sanctuary cities,” with their law enforcement agencies refusing to help federal agents identify undocumented immigrants so they could be detained and eventually deported.
The new president could curb federal funding to the cities, which individually could lose millions of dollars in assistance from the national government for a range of local programs. Many of the cities, including some of the biggest in the country, are located in states that Trump won in the November election.
Even with Trump’s immigration decrees, the new administration is grappling with how to deal with former President Barack Obama’s order allowing immigrant children, who entered the U.S. illegally when their parents crossed the border to stay in the U.S. for two years without fear of deportation. Many of the children only know the U.S. as their home and now are students or working in the country.
Immigration hardliners want these children deported, along with their parents, but their supporters call them “Dreamers” and have advocated for allowing them to stay in the U.S.
Pamela Taylor, whose home is on the south side of the border fence, stands near a sign she erected, in Brownsville, Texas.
Targeting criminals
On the campaign trail, Trump said everyone in the U.S. illegally would be subject to deportation, but subsequently has softened his stance and said only those with criminal records would be targeted initially, with the fate of law-abiding immigrants considered later.
Obama said his priority was to protect Americans, while also working to help immigrants who had been pushed from their homes by war, terrorism and political instability.
The Obama administration said refugees are “the most thoroughly screened travelers” to the United States, and are required to undergo security checks, examination of biographic and biometric data, vetting by law enforcement and intelligence agencies, and extensive interviews before they are allowed into the country. For many refugees, the process takes up to two years to complete.
In 2016, the U.S. admitted about 85,000 refugees, including more than 12,500 Syrians. Obama set a goal for the 2017 fiscal year, which began in October, of 110,000 refugee admissions.
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